Kenwood hosted an amazing meet at Gately this weekend, there were some blazing fast sprint times, and a not half bad 4x8 as well. I think Kenwood chose a great meet to schedule their senior night for because I have never been at an indoor meet with such an atmosphere. During the final heat of the girls 4x2, I was worried my eardrums were going to split, it was that loud. I think it was a good compliment for Mustang Relays, one brought the sprint action, one brought the distance action. I’ll leave you to decide which is which, let’s talk about who popped off at the Bronco Relays
Girls
4x200m
Homewood Flossmoor just couldn’t help themselves. With the people of Chicago as their witness, HF went across the finish line with an earth-shattering 1:39.99. Mariyah Robinson blazed what looked like a 23 high or 24 low from my vantage point. She gave the Vikings the lead early and they never let anyone get close. The quartet of Mariyah Robinson, London Willingham, Aniya Mullens, and London Jarrett broke their previous IL #1 to set the new IL #1 and take their spot at US #11. Kankakee had a few moments where it looked like a comeback might be possible, but they ended up in a fairly distant second with an IL #4 1:41.42. The quartet of DaMariana Tooles, Naomi Bey-Osborne, Essence Bell, and Trinity Noble valiantly chased Homewood Flossmoor and still came away with a season best as well as a cool US #22. Kenwood was third, they ran a 1:43.35 for IL #6 and (from the slow heat) Whitney Young was fourth in 1:44.40. Whitney Young ran without their superstar, Angelena Bullocks, and were still able to sneak under the 1:45 border. South Shore International was fifth with a 1:44.43, they shattered the 2A number one time set by East St. Louis by almost 3 seconds. I find it very impressive that they are able to compete with these big enrollment 3A schools with a mere 509 students. They are currently the team to beat in 2A, I think it will stay that way for most of the season. This event was hyped up to be one of the best events here, it certainly lived up to the hype.
4x400m
Mariyah Robinson was truly on fire on Monday. She helped anchor Homewood Flossmoor home to another victory with her wicked fast 56.52 split. HF ran an IL #5 time of 4:02.38 to take the win over Kankakee. Kankakee did not run Naomi Bey-Osborne in their relay and were still able to run 4:05.42 to take second place. Trinity Noble split a 59.59 to hawk down Kenwood’s anchor at the very end and Kenwood took third in 4:05.83. I think if Kankakee ran their star 400 runner, the results would have been a little different. Bey-Osborne has an outdoor PR in 55.13 and is one of the top returning 400 runners in the state. Her and Robinson were extremely competitive last year, I think it would’ve been a seriously good race if Bey-Osborne was anchoring the Kays. They would’ve had nearly identical starting times, HF came through 1200 at 3:05.87 and Kankakee came through in 3:05.83. They will definitely meet at some point in the future, and when it does make sure you bring your popcorn. A strong showing from HF will move them even further up the team rankings this week, they are further proving that they are the team to beat this year.
4x800m
While the A team was away, Lane Tech’s B team cleaned up shop here at Gately. The Champions ran with Samantha Borg-Breen, Sophie Halliday, Josephine Zupko, and Antonina Leary to take the win in 9:55.05. Out of the teams that have run really well in the second string, Lane Tech ranks 4th out of B team squads in the state right now. I think it’s always important to acknowledge the depth that schools have because some of the coolest racing can come from JV runners. It is also a good indicator on how well stocked up a team can be, so that when graduation comes, they are well prepared for it. Having a JV 4x8 under 10 minutes is diabolical, I would expect Lane Tech to be really good come outdoor season. It was a dog fight for second place, 3 teams all came within a second of each other. Chicago Marist narrowly beat Lake Forest and Whitney Young, the times were 10:09.15 to 10:09.66 to 10:10.26. Lake Forest’s anchor leg, run by Pilar Rosales, was gunning down Marist and Whitney Young. She split a 2:26.3 and just missed second place. The fastest split of the day came from freshman Allison Phillips of Marist, she led her team out in a 2:24.60. The 4x8 was a pleasant surprise, I very much enjoyed watching this race go down.
Boys
4x200m
The Kenwood boys were out of control in the 4x2. The Broncos took their senior night and turned it into a showcase. With all of their families in the stands, they took this opportunity to dismantle the IL #1 and make it their own, running 1:27.78 in the process. They became the first team of the season to break the 1:30 border and they absolutely flattened the previous IL #1 that was held by Batavia. We knew, going into the season, that Kenwood was going to be special, but a 1:27 in March was not on my bingo card. They currently sit at US #11 in that event and the squad of Logic West, Parrish Hartley Jr., David Campbell, and Armond Boulware will continue to dominate as the season goes on. Brother Rice and St. Laurence, who took second and third, didn’t even run a bad race. There’s just not a lot you can do when facing off against this formidable team. Brother Rice won a good team race against St. Laurence, who did see the return of John Hannah III. Even with Hannah back, the Crusaders were just too fast for the Vikings. Brother Rice won 1:32.01 to St. Laurence’s 1:32.33.
4x400m
The Broncos were all gas no brakes, they took home another win in the 4x4 as well. This one was actually pretty close between Kenwood and Lincoln Way West, but Kenwood still got the win, 3:20.17 to 3:20.53. Kenwood had all 4 of their runners right around 50 seconds, two were right under and two were right over. The Broncos were in the lead for the entire race, but Austin Rowswell was on the hunt during the anchor leg. Rowswell split a searing 47.43 in search of the win, but he was unable to catch the mouse and LWW took second instead. Both teams completely decimated the previous IL #1 set by East St. Louis, they currently sit at IL #1 and #2 as well as US #16 and US #19. This race was such a nail-biter and it was the closest race of the night for sure. If you were rooting for either one of the teams, you were on the edge of your seat at the end.
4x800m
Lakes came to run one event, and they left with the gold. The Eagles ran 8:01.86 to take the win over Kenwood and Deerfield. Kenwood was the main competitor for Lakes for the first 2 legs, and then the Broncos dropped back and Deerfield took their place. It stayed this way for leg 3, Deerfield and Lakes both handed off right around 6:05 to their anchors. Jackson Summy was the one to finally create space and take home the win for Lakes. Deerfield’s anchor had a collision with another athlete on the field and was unable to recover in time to stay in front of Kenwood’s anchor. Kenwood ended up taking second with an 8:09.72 over Deerfield in 8:10.04. Had Deerfield been able to stay out of the way and avoid hitting the other guy, they probably would’ve come away with second. This is, however, completely out of their control. They ran a great team race, it just wasn’t in the stars for them today. I would be willing to bet that they’ll be back again, and next time they won’t be unlucky. Lakes was IL #1 for about 45 minutes, until Downers North grabbed it from them at Mustang Relays. Considering that there was a much faster 4x8 that happened after Bronco Relays, it was pretty impressive that Lakes was able to stay in the top 10 without having a time to hit. They came into the season unranked, but they are here now, proving to you that they are someone to watch. I think they could surprise you this year, make sure you keep them on your radar.
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